Tricky in Acne Studios x Kappa by Jordan Hemingway10 Images
Tricky is not a fashion guy. It’s something he tells me over and over again as we talk on the phone, me tucked away in a stationary cupboard in the Dazed office, and him fresh off a flight from Toulouse, France, where he’d been hanging out for a few days. We’ve been linked up to discuss his turn as Acne Studios’ latest campaign face, with the Scandinavian brand tapping him to front a series of images celebrating its new collaboration with iconic 90s sportswear label, Kappa.
Shot by longtime Dazed collaborator Jordan Hemingway, the legendary musician is seen decked out in looks from the offering, staring moodily down the camera. There’s a pink striped football jersey, a pair of wide-legged track pants and matching jacket, plus accessories including a cap and a new take on Acne’s Bowlina bowling bag in the mix. “So you kind of are a fashion guy now, then,” I tell him. “Well… Yeah, I guess so,” he laughs.
Fashion guy or not, Tricky’s influence on music and wider culture is monumental. Rising out of a Bristol council estate in the mid-90s, Tricky pioneered the trip-hop sound the city became synonymous with, his gravelly vocals rolling across swooning beats on early records by his former band, Massive Attack. Growing up, his clothes were kind of an afterthought, and he looked up to the men with “Money and power and cars and respect”. rather than pop stars or actors “Where I came from, you looked up to the wrong people. Criminals, really.”
Despite this, Tricky’s always had his own distinct style, wearing a lot of vintage pieces he picked up on travels across the globe, like embroidered souvenir jackets and bombers from secondhand stores in Japan and the USA. “I have a fur jacket with leather sleeves that I bought in Tokyo that I could never get rid of,” he tells me. Sportswear has always been a big component of his wardrobe, too, with the musician captured endlessly through the 90s in a pair of trackies and a classic white vest. “And Kappa was a big thing when I was a kid. All the ghetto kids wore it, we all had it on.”
As the Acne Studios x Kappa collection gets its debut today (March 27), Tricky speaks on bringing the campaign to life, his designs on the runway, hanging out in Paris during fashion week, and who’d play him in a movie of his life.
Hey Tricky! First of all, I’d love to know how the collaboration came about. I heard Jonny (Johanssson) is a big fan of yours. Were you familiar with Acne before you linked up?
Tricky: It was a bit of a surprise actually. They just reached out to [my manager] Nigel and said they wanted me to star in a campaign. It was quite out of the blue. I wasn’t really aware of the brand before that, to be totally honest. I don’t know much about fashion full stop, I’m not really a fashion guy. (laughs)
What about Kappa?
Tricky: Oh yeah, when I was a kid I was really into Kappa. Kappa was the thing. It was a real ghetto brand – all the ghetto kids wore it, we all had it on.
It got banned in my school! I was gutted because I’d just convinced my mum to buy me a pair of trackies and I wasn’t allowed to wear it.
Tricky: No way! How come?
Because it had naked women on it! Honestly the last thing my school needed to be worried about.
Tricky: That will do it I guess. Crazy. (laughs)
“When I was a kid I was really into Kappa. Kappa was the thing. It was a real ghetto brand – all the ghetto kids wore it, we all had it on” – Tricky
You worked with Jordan Hemingway on the campaign. What was that experience like?
Tricky: Yeah, worked with Jordan. It’s funny because I’d been hearing about Jordan a lot and I didn’t actually put two and two together. I’d heard about him from friends who had got him to photograph stuff, and I was really into his work. So it was funny eventually meeting him on the shoot. He’s a talented guy, but he’s very real and down to earth. It was easy being around him, which was good because you spend such a long time with someone in a small space getting these quite intimate portraits. He’s cool, a nice guy.
How would you describe your personal style?
Tricky: I don’t know to be honest! I don’t really think about it that much, I just wear whatever I feel like wearing. I’ve never been a fashion guy, but I like vintage shopping and stuff like that. Picking things up when I’m travelling.
What’s been your best vintage find?
Tricky: I’ve got a jacket that I bought in Tokyo a really long time ago. It’s a fur jacket with leather arms and I could never part with it.
Do you have any fashion regrets?
Tricky: Nope! (laughs)
We sat together at the Acne show in Paris. How was the rest of your time in the city, did you go to any other shows?
Tricky: No other shows, but it was fun. It was so busy. It’s crazy how it seems to take over the whole city. You could tell it was fashion week just by all the people walking around – even if i’d not been to the Acne show and didn’t actively know it was fashion week, it would have been pretty obvious. It brings so many different people together, from all over the world – I heard so many different accents and languages just sitting outside coffee shops or walking around, from French, to English, to Japanese, to Italian.
Did you have a kind of style icon that you looked up to when you were growing up?
Tricky: Not really. Where I grew up I looked up to criminals when I was younger. (laughs) We didn’t look up to pop stars or film stars or anything like that. Although I guess I did like what bands like The Specials wore. But yeah, where I came from, you looked up to the wrong people really – the ones with money and power and cars and respect.
Okay say you’re walking a show. What would be the soundtrack?
Tricky: Probably The Specials. Maybe “Ghost Town” or “Concrete Jungle”. Or maybe “I Put A Spell On You” by Nina Simone.
“My three desert island discs would be ‘When It’s Going Wrong’ by me and Marta. ‘Darling Nikki’ by Prince. And Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’” – Tricky
And what would the runway look like?
Tricky: So maybe it would be a glass runway with exotic fish swimming under it.
Quite big budget!
Tricky: I mean the fashion industry seems to have more money than the music industry so I don’t think it’s gonna be a problem!
If you were stuck on a desert island, what three tracks would you want to listen to?
Tricky: “When It’s Going Wrong” by me and Marta. “Darling Nikki” by Prince. And Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”.
What track’s been stuck in your head recently?
Tricky: This underground rapper called 32 Blow. It’s called “Bumper 2 Bumper”. It’s not on Spotify, only YouTube, because I wanted to put it on my Acne playlist and I couldn’t. I don’t know anything about him really, but his music is amazing.
How do you get into the zone creatively?
Tricky: Oh, I just love making music. Love, love, love it. Everything else just fades away. It’s like meditation for me. Some people go jogging, or do a sport, or paint, or go for walks to relax. For me, it’s making music. I’m not thinking about anything else when I’m doing it. All the day to day stuff goes out the window.
Are you working on new music right now?
Tricky: Yeah, I’m doing Marta’s second album, it’s our second album. We’re about halfway through and it’s sounding amazing.
Last question. Who would play you in a biopic of your life?
Tricky: Oh god… Gary Oldman. Great actor. One of my favourites of all time. I love him in The Firm and in Jacob’s Ladder. So ,yeah, definitely Gary Oldman.
